Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Making modern music can be a question of sheer will. With Rush, it's just that. Their 7th studio album, (released on January 1, 1980) PERMANENT WAVES is extremely important to Rush's history. It represents a pivot point, a fundamental change in how they approached writing. Gone were the 'epic' songs of 9-10 minutes in length. Their songs became more radio friendly and consequently, a significant expansion in the band's sales with hits such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" seeing considerable radio airplay.
PERMANENT WAVES became Rush's first US Top 5 album hitting #4 and was the band's fifth Gold (eventually Platinum) selling album. The album also marks a distinct transition from hard rock and progressive rock into a more accessible to the masses streamlined version of themselves.
The lead in track; The Spirit of Radio demonstrates the bands ever changing & evolving music tastes & continued experimentation with a reggae style rhythm incorporated into the song.
The closing track entitled Natural Science does clock in at a hefty 9:17 & does contain 3 distinct movements.
The album contains 6 songs; 1. The Spirit of Radio. 2. Freewill. 3. Jacob's Ladder. 4. Entre Nous (French = Between Us). 5. Different Strings. 6. Natural Science, (l. Tide Pools. ll. Hyperspace. lll. Permanent Waves.)
The title/concept for the album as told by Geddy Lee told Rolling Stone Magazine that the album's title referred to "a theory that was going [within the band] about, like, culture waves; and there was a night when Neil (Peart) said that a big album was like a permanent wave and I told him, 'that's our title'.
PERMANENT WAVES released 3 singles; The Spirit of Music, Entre Nous & Freewill.
The band some help with the recording of the album; Geddy Lee - bass guitars, Oberheim 8 Voice Synthesizer; OB-1; Minimoog; and Taurus pedal synthesizers, vocals
Alex Lifeson - six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus pedals
Neil Peart - drums, timpani, timbales, orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, bell tree, triangle, crotales, cover concept
Erwig Chuapchuaduah - steel drums
Hugh Syme - piano on "Different Strings", art direction, design, cover concept artwork.
Now then my vinyl is a 120 gram that is in mint condition. It has the original album sleeve complete with song lyrics & band photo. It is a first edition pressing. It is 110% wonderful to listen to. This album is art on many levels.
Just between us, help make some waves with Rush's PERMANENT WAVES. Spin this album.

What is it about Rush I enjoy so much? Is it their musicianship? Is it the lyrics contained in their songs? Is it respect & reverence for their nearly 40 years of unyielding work ethic? Honestly is all of the above for me. Rush has always been about their music first & if people wanted to tag along that was fine, if not that was fine with them.
By 1982 Rush found themselves further experimenting more with the electronic sound from previous albums such as; PERMANENT WAVES & MOVING PICTURES. So on September 9, 1982, rush released their 9th studio album SIGNALS. Stylistically, the album was a continuation of Rush's foray into the technology-oriented 1980s through increased use of electronic instrumentation such as keyboards, sequencers, and electric violin. Other noticeable changes were decreased average song length and lyrical compression. The album reached #10 on the Billboard album charts and was certified Platinum (1,000,000 copies sold) by the R.I.A.A. in November 1982.
Drummer/Lyricist Neil Peart, Guitarist Alex Lifeson & Bassist/Singer Geddy Lee created a majority of this album during their Moving Pictures Tour.
The album is comprised of 8 solid Rush tracks. 1. Subdivisions. 2. The Analog Kid. 3. Chemistry. 4. Digital Man. 5. The Weapon (part 2 of Fear). 6. New World Man. 7. Losing It. 8. Countdown.
Personally, I dig this album. In many ways it's pure previous Rush & in others it hints at some things to come. Subdivisions has been a Rush concert staple since 1982.
My vinyl is 120gram mint. It looks new & sounds even better. It's an original pressing & is an interesting listen. The electronic sound of the album is very good & loud. It's a clean sound.
The usual Hugh Syme cover artwork is of course unique.
The map of the imaginary secondary school on the back of the album cover was named after Montreal Expo slugger Warren Cromartie.
Hugh Syme: "Well, I was given the word "Signals." It was such a broad concept that it was baffling for all of us. We really had trouble with that one, and I decided that, with such a phenomenally important word with the kind of potency it potentially had, to go with something really dumb, really inane. But something which would still tie in with songs such as "Chemistry," and the subdivision aspect of the fire hydrants, lawns, and neighborhood dogs."
Geddy Lee said: "Well, we wanted the album to sound different and we also thought that the packaging should have a different feel. When we were talking about Signals, Hugh had this concept of taking the idea down to a basic human level - territorial or even sexual. So that's how the design with the dog and the fire hydrant came about. The little map on the back features make-believe subdivisions, with a lot of silly names and places. The red dots represent all the fire hydrants and basically the whole thing maps out a series of territories."
This is an excellent Rush album. Pick up on this albums signals. Spin it.